1. Field
An exemplary embodiment described technology relates generally to an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display has a self-emissive characteristic, and thus, unlike a liquid crystal display, does not need a separate light source. Therefore, the OLED display can be thin (slim) in thickness and light in weight. In addition, since the OLED display has high-quality characteristics such as low power consumption, high luminance, fast reaction time, and the like, the OLED display is drawing attention as a next generation display for a portable electronic device.
The organic light emitting diode (OLED) display includes a plurality of organic light emitting elements (organic light emitting diodes) having a hole injection electrode, an organic emission layer, and an electron injection electrode. Light occurs by energy that is generated when excitons that are generated by coupling of electrons and holes within the organic emission layer drop from an exited state to a ground state, whereby the OLED display displays an image.
However, the organic emission layer is sensitive to (reacts to) an external factor such as moisture or oxygen. Accordingly, if the organic emission layer is exposed to moisture or oxygen, the quality of the organic light emitting diode (OLED) display is deteriorated. Therefore, to protect the organic light emitting element and to prevent the moisture or oxygen from penetrating into the organic emission layer, an encapsulation substrate is combined and sealed with the substrate formed with the organic light emitting element through a sealing process, or a thin film encapsulation layer is formed on the organic light emitting element.
However, the moisture or oxygen may still penetrate through a connection interface where the encapsulation member and the substrate are connected, and the size (width) of a sealing region must be increased to prevent this penetration, which is a problem. If the sealing region is increased (widened), a non-display area is unnecessarily increased in the organic light emitting diode (OLED) display.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.